Alec

I had rolled my eyes at Magnus, annoyed with both his and Jace's inability to get along for even five minutes. "Not as if you're being much better."

"Considering how happy glitter makes me and that I'm going without it right now, I'd say I'm being pretty damn chipper; especially to Jace." He sulked, glancing mournfully at his dresser where his glitter shrine was located.

"You could always just surrender…." I'd hinted. I figured he'd crack sooner or later and seeing as how his closet had not one item without glitter on it, he'd eventually have to.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Honestly, Alexander? You take me for the surrendering type? And you call yourself a self-appointed expert on me. I told you that I would win this little bet of ours and that is exactly what I intend to do."

"And if I win?" I asked.

Magnus smiled and ran his thumb over my cheek, making heat flow into them immediately. All of his touches evoked that reaction from me, making my feelings for him much too obvious. He saw it as 'cute'. I just thought it was annoying most of the time. "You won't."

: : :

That 'charm' of his was how I ended up here; in a smelly, graffiti-riddled subway surrounded by a bunch of mundanes and an animated and glitter-free Magnus. He was dragging me to Manhattan to go shopping, of all the things to do uptown and to make things worse he wouldn't shut up.

"Hey, Alec! Are you brave enough to let me see your peacock?" He sang with one currently de-glitterized iPod earphone in his ear. "Don't be a chicken, boy, stop acting like a beeotch. I'ma peace out if you don't give me the payoff!"

I could feel the heat rushing into my cheeks in response to his singing the playfully sexual song but I ignored him, keeping my expression neutral as I watched everyone on the train, oblivious to almost everything outside of their own thoughts; not noticing the small but significant things that all shadowhunters noticed almost immediately.

"Don't be a shy kinda guy, I'll bet it's beautiful. Come on baby, let me see, whatchu hiding underneath!" Magnus steadily grew louder, no doubt trying to get a response out of me. It worked.

"First you drag me to go shopping with you and now you won't stop singing? Honestly, Magnus, you're worse than Izzy!"

He grinned at me, no longer singing but still mouthing the words, ignoring my complaints. I huffed and slumped back against the seat, jumping up when I thought about how dirty it probably was.

The train ride took forever. Or, at least, it seemed to. When we finally arrived in Manhattan, I practically had to zoom off the train after Magnus who was all ready halfway up the stairs by the time I stepped off of the train. He made a hurry up gesture that I ignored. I was all ready being forced to shop, I wasn't going to make my misery last longer than it needed to by hurrying up.

By the time I caught up to Magnus a few seconds later, his iPod was -thankfully- away. I looked around at where we were at, on 5th avenue between 49th and 60th street, and stared at all of the polished people going in and out of the expensive stores lining the streets; ignorant of the hellish creatures walking around emulating them through the use of glamours. Despite having seen all types of demons and downworlders, mundane never ceased to amuse and amaze me. They were so oblivious to everything. It was no wonder they needed our help or they'd have been practically extinct by now.

I shook my head and looked at Magnus to ask him what we were doing there before I noticed that he was all ready looking at me, an amused expression on his face. "What?" I grumbled, instantly embarrassed.

"Nothing," he smiled. "You're just so…lost in Alec land. I'd like to be invited there someday. Or if not, I could always just sneak in." His eyes gleamed, showing me that he was teasing, and I was still surprised at his glitter less appearance. His golden catlike eyes still drew me in without the glitter, but now there was nothing to distract me from them. I could just stare into his eyes all day…

"And…there you go again." Magnus remarked, bringing me out of the trance his eyes had put on me.

I rolled my eyes, the heat on my face an ever constant presence around him. "Let's just get this shopping spree over with."

Instantly he brightened and probably would have squealed, had he not been so above squealing. "Yes, let's!" I followed him past Sak's Fifth Avenue and Tiffany's and all of the other ridiculously expensive stores into one of the few alleyways around.

"Um…Magus? What are we-?"

"Shh." He muttered absently, his hands raised in front of him and glowing with an unnatural light, his eyes half-mast in concentration. I watched as a solid wood door opened up in the previously brick wall- a quick image of Hagrid and Harry from Harry Potter flashing into my mind and disappearing just as quickly.

The strain faded from Magnus's face and he turned to me, smiling and gesturing towards the now open door. "Welcome to downworlders' version of 5th Avenue."